How does it happen that an innocent picture sparks a firestorm of sorts? All I did was post a picture of a deer on my Facebook page, and Wham! It's knockout time! The picture was a little out of focus because it had been taken through the window of my living room. A young buck was standing in my front yard, head up, as if he had posed just for me. He was facing another young buck out on the road, although that one is not visible in the picture. Before I could get a picture of the other buck, they both turned and left. No conflict, no disagreement, not even any posturing or pawing the ground. A total contrast to what happened when my friends saw the picture.

At any rate, when I uploaded the picture to my computer, I thought it was just different enough that some of my FB friends would enjoy it; so I posted it. Big mistake. That a picture of a deer can provoke political name calling, hate mongering, and cursing is beyond my understanding, but that is what happened.

My friends are not, and never have been, limited to one particular group, be it political, religious, relatives, or neighbors. I like them all; some I love, and I never use that word lightly. I enjoy the different points of view that my friends offer, even if I don't always agree. But I do not stop liking someone just because we disagree in our politics. Sometimes, I even listen to the "other side." Although most of my friends would call me a liberal, I try to choose what's right. That's right as in correct, not right as in politically on the right.

Maybe that's why it's so hard to understand what has happened. I guess I should be thankful that not much of the invective was aimed directly at me. And thank you to those whose comments focused on the picture itself.